Archive - News Article

September 22nd, 2014

September 22, 2014

PAWTUCKET â€“ A new national park in the Blackstone River Valley moved a bit closer to reality late last week when the House Committee on Natural Resources approved the Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park Establishment Act, U.S. Congressman David N. Cicilline (D-R.I.) announced Monday.

Cicilline, who introduced the legislation in the House, says the bill will preserve and protect nationally significant resources throughout the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor, promote economic development, and improve historic and natural resources in the Blackstone Valley.

September 20th

September 20, 2014

PAWTUCKET â€“ A former Tolman High School wrestling coach is facing five
counts of possession of child pornography after police said they found
â€śseveral videos and images that featured what appeared to be males under the age of 18 performing sexual acts,â€ť after receiving a search warrant for his phone.

David Veccharino, 32, was formerly the head wrestling coach and assistant football coach at Tolman High School prior to his firing earlier this week, School Superintendent Patricia DiCenso confirmed.

September 18th

September 18, 2014

CENTRAL FALLS â€“ The third annual Bright Future Festival will kick off Saturday afternoon, with a diverse celebration of the city's culture, including dance and musical performances, and concluding with a firework display.

The festival begins Saturday at noon at Jenks Park and is free and open to the public and celebrates Central Falls' diversity with cultural foods, dance performances, informational and educational booths, and interactive community art activities.

September 15th

September 15, 2014

EAST PROVIDENCE â€“ The East Providence Historic District Commission is urging the City Council to make emergency repairs to the long-vacant shingle-style Odd Fellows Hall at 63-65 Warren Ave. to stop further deterioration while the city comes up with a long-term solution for the re-use of the historic building.

September 14th

September 14, 2014

PAWTUCKET â€“ City Councilman Albert J. Vitali Jr. has filed for a recount of Tuesdayâ€™s at-large council primary after the most recent figures from the state Board of Elections have him trailing third-place finisher and fellow City Councilman Thomas E. Hodge by only 35 votes.

Vitali said he filed for the recount on Wednesday, the day after the primary, â€śbecause the percentage points were so narrow.â€ť

September 12th

September 12, 2014

PAWTUCKET â€“ With the cities' connection through James McNally Wilson, one of seven Irish rebels rescued from an Australian prison in the 1870s, Pawtucket officials on Friday announced the formation of a sister city relationship with Newry County Down in Northern Ireland.

September 11th

September 11, 2014

PAWTUCKET â€“ A city man who was a volunteer at the Kennedy Manor polls for Tuesday's primary was arrested for loitering for prostitution after he offered to perform a sex act on a fellow volunteer, police said.
William Seiler, 38, offered to perform a sex act on a man in his 20s who also was volunteering at the Broad Street housing complex for the primary, police Maj. Arthur Martins said.

September 9th

September 9, 2014

PAWTUCKET â€“ School Committee member Sandra Cano ran away from the pack as the top vote-getter in Tuesday night's City Council primary, garnering
well over 400 more votes than the next closest candidate.

Cano, who has served on the School Committee since 2012, received 4,068 votes, according to unofficial results from the state Board of Elections.
Trailing behind Cano, but still chosen by voters to be on November's
ballot, was three-term council member Lorenzo C. Tetreault, who garnered

September 8th

September 8, 2014

It’s going to be a long day for statewide candidates locked in tight primaries, but voters should need no more than a few minute to do their duty. All they have to do is choose the candidates they think will lead Rhode Island toward a brighter future.

September 7th

September 7, 2014

PAWTUCKET â€“ The four candidates for three at-large council seats say that issues ranging from improving the cityâ€™s business climate to keeping a keen eye to the cityâ€™s finances are focal points in the lead-up to Tuesdayâ€™s Democratic primary.

Incumbent councilmen Thomas E. Hodge, Lorenzo C. Tetreault, and Albert J. Vitali Jr. will look to receive another term on the council when voters take to the polls during the Sept. 9 primary. However, a challenge has come from School Committee member Sandra Cano.

September 4th

September 4, 2014

CENTRAL FALLS â€“ Arson is considered a â€śreal possibilityâ€ť in an early-morning fire that gutted an unoccupied three-story building on Foundry Street Thursday, fire officials said.

The fire broke out at 63 Foundry St. at about 3 a.m. Thursday and required nearly 50 firefighters from Central Falls and neighboring communities to fight the blaze before it was fully under control nearly three hours later, Fire Chief Robert Bradley Jr. told The Times.

The fire is the third in six months at the property, Bradley said, with the intensity of each inferno worsening with each incident.

September 4, 2014

PAWTUCKET â€“ Rooted in humble beginnings â€“ with a few dozen attendees attracted to the Pawtucket Public Library to celebrate the first annual festival in 1999 â€“ the Pawtucket Arts Festival has witnessed continued growth and expansion over the past 15 years Arts Festival Chairman John Baxter is hopeful that this year's upcoming celebration, the 16th annual such festival, will only serve to further grow the size, spectacle, and overall reach of the event.

September 2nd

September 2, 2014

PAWTUCKET â€“ Upon entering the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council's visitor center on Main Street, guests are instantly inundated with hundreds of photographs adorning the walls.
These snapshots capture the city on a grand scale â€“ including attractions such as Slater Memorial Park and McCoy Stadium â€“ or something as simple as a little piece of home, whether it's a family cookout, children playing in mounds of snow, or friends horsing around.

September 1st

September 1, 2014

PAWTUCKET â€“ In John Baxterâ€™s view there isnâ€™t a better event among the many making up the month-long Pawtucket Arts Festival than when the Rhode Island Philharmonic takes the stage at Slater Park for its annual concert.

â€śI think it is a vital classical music component of the Festival and one way that we can highlight a local performance group that has been a cornerstone of classical music in the state,â€ť Baxter, festival chairman, said of the event.

August 31st

September 1, 2014

PAWTUCKET â€“ Although it has been decades since Fanny the Elephant could be found sauntering around on site, Daggett Farm at Slater Memorial Park is still the kind of place that transcends generations; where parents can bring their children for a relaxing afternoon, then reminisce fondly as their kids later bring their own children.

Darlene Hyson, of Rehoboth, Mass., is a seasoned veteran of the farm. By her own estimation, she frequents the farm on a weekly basis. On Friday morning, she was there with her 3-year-old twin boy and girl.

August 29th

August 29, 2014

CENTRAL FALLS â€“ The former St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Academy Building has been sold to a New York-based redevelopment company, with plans to convert it into an elementary school, according to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence.
The buyer, Civic Builders of New York, bought the property at 909 Lonsdale Ave. from Holy Family Parish for $889,000. The company plans to turn the former Catholic school into an elementary school, which will serve children from Central Falls, Cumberland, and Lincoln, according to a news release.

August 28th

August 28, 2014

EAST PROVIDENCE â€” Police spent two hours on Thursday trying to coax a sword-wielding man out of his home on Delway Road after he barricaded himself in the house.

When talks didn't work, a special reaction team used gas to finally force the man out, authorities said.

The incident began to unfold just after 6 a.m., when police received a call from a man inside the home who said he awoke to find his distraught 66-year-old roommate swinging a sword and making threatening statements.